The Missing Cats & The Pet Psychic

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Yesterday, I had a scare with Daisy that lasted all day. First of all, this place was hopping, unlike how quiet it usually is around here.

I had the vet come check on Ivy yesterday morning, as she was grumpier than usual and wouldn’t let me brush her.

Ivy is heavy and cannot groom her back the way she needs to. Lately, when I’ve attempted to brush her, she hisses and acts like she’s going to bite me.

The vet said she had not gained any more weight and that nothing was wrong with her back in terms of an injury. I’ve been working to help Ivy lose weight by feeding her a diet food, but she just doesn’t run around as much as the kittens do. She’s eight years old this month, and she values her naptime.

The vet told me that some cats are just heavier than others, but to continue trying to help her with her weight with the diet food.

I think this is the third time I’ve had the vet out in the last couple of years to check Ivy’s back because I think she’s in pain. And she tells me nothing is wrong with her. She must think I’m a doddering old fool.

The vet said that Ivy is itchy because of the dandruff-like stuff on her back that she can’t reach to scratch off.

So the vet told me to order a baby brush that might feel gentler to her and might help her not hiss at me when I try to brush her. So I ordered a baby brush set, which should arrive today.

Randy Installed Kitchen Curtains:

Meanwhile, Randy, the lawn guy/handyman, was here installing a curtain rod and curtains in the kitchen. The curtains I had there allowed the late-day western sun to heat the room. Now that it’s getting hot, I want to try to conserve energy and keep it cool in here.

I had ordered the same curtains I have in the bathroom, which were in my kitchen at the apartment. They are gray-and-cream striped instead of green-and-white striped.

What is it with manufacturers of curtain rods these days? You can no longer order a curtain rod in just one or two pieces. You have to add the rod pieces incrementally until it is long enough. Usually about a foot at a time, and it is so aggravating.

This is a pain in the you-know-what, because they aren’t as sturdy as the curtain rods we used to be able to get.

I’ve ordered numerous curtain rods over the past year and a half, now that I live in a house that has 18 windows. None of them is worth a tinker’s damn, in my opinion.

After the vet left, I ironed the curtains. Randy had to climb a tall ladder because of the high ceilings. I needed the rod to reach the ceiling, or it would be too long.

Backing Up a Bit:

Let me briefly back up.

When the vet arrived, all the cats were hiding, as you probably assumed. I had shut all the doors, but somehow Ivy had pushed the bedroom door open and was hiding under the bed. And I had tried so hard to corral her for when the vet arrived.

That meant the poor vet, who is thankfully young, had to pull her out from under the bed. With my knees, I just can’t get down there anymore. She took Ivy out to her mobile vet for an examination.

I kept apologizing that the vet had to drag Ivy out from under the bed. She said, “At least it was Ivy and not one of the other two.” In other words, Daisy and Simon run so fast that it’s quite difficult to grab one of them.

So I’m leading up to the confusion and fright Daisy gave me. The vet left, and Randy had installed the curtains. I paid him, we talked for a while, and he went home. He just lives down the street from me.

Ivy came out of her hidey-hole, and Simon came out of his, wherever that was.

But no Daisy.

I wondered if she’d run outside with everyone going in and out of the front door. If one of the cats were to do that, I figure that it would probably be Daisy. She is fearless.

So I went about my day, and every little bit, my thoughts went back to where Daisy might possibly be. I’d called to her, gotten out her favorite toys, tried the light that they like to chase, and no Daisy. I was really getting worried.

Becoming Frantic:

Hours passed. It became late afternoon. But still no Daisy.

By 5 p.m., I’d become frantic. She’d been missing for seven hours and counting. Finally, I broke down and called Greg to see if he was done working for the day. The cats know him well, and Daisy might come out of hiding for him.

But he had his four-year-old daughter, and we both know from experience that the cats always hide from her.

His daughter’s name is Everly, and she is adorable. But when he brings her here, she is desperate to see the cats. And if you know cats, you know that the more you want them to socialize, the more they refuse.

A four-year-old running through the house calling out to them does nothing but make them hide longer.

Everly Looking for the Cats:

It’s so funny, when Everly calls out to Ivy, she runs through the house saying: “Fat cat, fat cat! Where is the fat cat?” The poor thing has yet to see the cats outside of a photo I’ve taken. And she so very much wants to see and pet them.

Anyway, so that idea wasn’t going to work. Finally, I’ve begun to cry, and I called Kendra, who was eating supper. She said she’d finish eating and be on her way over here.

Kendra still has somewhat bendable knees and can look under furniture for me. I couldn’t even manage to get a flashlight to work.

Why do batteries in flashlights go out so quickly? I never seem to need them, but Kendra insists I have flashlights because she is afraid of storms. She wants to know I have flashlights at the ready, and that I’m smart enough to take the cats and get in the bathtub.

In fact, she will either call or text me during a big storm to ask if I’m in the bathtub with the cats.

Can you imagine me catching three cats and putting them all in the bathtub with me? First of all, my cats won’t let you pick them up. Secondly, Ivy hisses whenever Daisy or Simon gets within a foot of her.

Back to Daisy:

So, back to Daisy. By this time, I’ve tried everything I know to do to lure her out. I’d about decided she’d gone outside when everyone was going in and out that morning. So I went outside and called out for her.

Just about the time Kendra was getting into her car to come help me look for her, Daisy came out of hiding. She was sleepy-eyed and blinking at me. Obviously, she must have heard me crying and was confused about what was going on.

So then I called Kendra and told her not to come over, that Daisy was in my sight. I called Greg to let him know I’d found her, because I had him worried.

Kendra told me that she looks for her two cats, Millie and Maggie, before she leaves for the day. This is to make sure they haven’t managed to get outside somehow.

Kendra said she sometimes finds her cats hiding up on the middle-level closet rod under her clothing. The clothing must overlap the round rod.

She has learned that cats are very good at hiding. If they don’t want you to find them, you probably won’t.

Amanda, the Missing Cats, & the Pet Psychic:

After I called Kendra to tell her that Daisy had come out of hiding, Kendra told me a story. It’s about a woman named Amanda, for whom Kendra often renovates properties.

Months ago, when it snowed, which doesn’t happen often here, Amanda’s cat went missing. She was so upset, Kendra said, because she couldn’t locate the cat in the bad weather.

Finally, in desperation, Amanda hired a pet psychic. She paid $200 to try to find out what had happened to her cat.

The pet psychic told Amanda the cat was hiding because of the snow. She told Amanda that the cat was okay, but was trying to stay warm.

The pet psychic said, “She will come out when the snow melts.”

Lo and behold, Amanda came home two and a half weeks later, and the cat was inside her house. She apparently had come in through the doggy door while Amanda was gone.

What a relief!

Finally, after a long two and a half weeks, the worry and sadness were over. The snow had melted, and the cat was home where she belonged.

My Daisy had been hiding for nearly eight hours yesterday, and finally she appeared, and I could relax. Indeed, she had not run outside that morning. She was no longer “missing.”

And all was right with the world again.